As I see it, the manner of Terri Schiavo’s death reveals ourselves for what we are. As St. Paul described himself in Romans 7, we are the “Wretched Man” This inner hypocrisy allows us to say one thing and do another without even being aware of it.
The Terri Schiavo case was capturing a great deal of attention. Naturally all this attention had the potential of revealing all sorts "embarrassing"details. It was necessary to conclude it as quickly as possible.
Page 8 of the autopsy report states definitively that Terri had previously received pain medication in March I believe. Yet none was given during her forced dehydration. The odds are than that Terri felt pain and as far as I can see, there is nothing in the autopsy report that factually claims that Terri was without pain.
So assuming she felt pain, we must conclude that this helpless woman, through no fault of her own, was forced to endure this slow agonizing death.
The obvious question then is why she just wasn’t put under anesthesia. To do so admits that she felt pain raising further questions about her life’s status and the legal issues bound to surface would make the killing impossible. It would then be illegal to drug her. The important thing was to get it over with and bury the whole issue not just for political expediency but to cover up all previous demonstrations of incompetence that could be uncovered.
So the decision was to look the other way while making some fine speeches while gradually subjecting this unfortunate woman to this barbaric death. This has nothing to do with the question if she desired to die but instead if she wanted to endure agony.
The real value of this incident isn’t the issue of right or wrong, it is instead that we collectively do these things and allow them to be done.
From the beginning of time, we’ve experienced the most extraordinary and at the same time, the most barbaric things Man is capable of. The fact that her death had the strong possibility of being endured in such a horrible manner and that most are inclined to believe it to be acceptable only further indicates to me how easy it is to be compassionate on Monday while barbaric on Wednesday depending completely on subjective conditions but with no sense of inner contradiction
Of course St.Paul is right to admit hypocrisy and that this is just a reflection of how we are but even though I understand it intellectually, it is not so easy to accept emotionally. It is as though these incidents should never occur in spite of what we are. On the surface it seems low to inflict these things on the unfortunate for political expediency and fear of exposure. But it is done and will continue to be done in many different forms as a reflection of what we are collectively. No fine speeches can change it but sometimes incidents like this can further clarify it for those willing to be open to the reality of human nature that manifests itself within what is called “political necessity.”